Another suspected H5 bird flu case detected in WA

Another suspected H5 bird flu case detected in WA Fri 26 Jun 2026 at 2:30pm Another suspected case of the H5 bird flu has been detected in Western Australia, marking the fifth confirmed or suspected case in Australia. Two cases of the deadly avian influenza have been confirmed so far in migratory seabirds in WA, and one in South Australia. The new suspected case — found at Roses Beach near Esperance — is still being tested for confirmation, along with another suspected case near Dunsborough announced on Wednesday. WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said there was still no evidence of any transmission to local wildlife. "There have been no detections in poultry, and there have been no reports of large scale mortalities," she said. "A member of the public reported five [giant] petrels on Roses Beach [near Esperance] on Sunday 21st of June," Ms Jarvis said. "Only one of the petrels has returned a suspected positive result for bird flu. The other four birds returned negative results. "This is encouraging — it means there is no evidence of disease transmission here on the Australian mainland." Samples from the new suspected case, a petrel common to the subantarctic, have been sent to the CSIRO for further testing. Loading